Monthly Archives: November 2015

I posted a lot more than I thought I would in November – thanks to not being invested in NaNoWriMo like I thought I would be, but it still wasn’t really a quality blog month. I did read a couple of really great books, though! AND I met my Good Reads Reading Challenge goal of 115 books!

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I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. I thought I’d start doing a post once a month with just the couple thoughts I shared on Good Reads

I am always on the look out for fake relationship books and when I saw this I thought it would be another cute story. It was not.

Hayley was one of the most unlikable characters I’ve ever read. She was super immature, bratty, delusional, and kind of a psycho. The way she treated Bryce, her blackmailed fake boyfriend, was crazy. And I think if roles would have been reversed and he treated her that way everyone would consider him a creepy, possessive, abusive stalker.

There’s a lot more ranting I could do about this book, but I really don’t want to waste any more time on it.

I admit I have been severely disappointed when I first found out that Karin Slaughter’s most recent two books have not been a continuation of the Will Trent series. However, just like with Cop Town before it, Pretty Girls definitely makes up for any disappointment I had. It’s a smart, suspenseful mystery with very well-developed characters. Twists are given away subtly so they sneak up on you and pack a punch. Even when I suspected something, Slaughter still wrote it in a way that surprised me when it happened and there were several other moments where I honestly did not see things coming. Even though the subject matter was often dark and heartbreaking, I really enjoyed this book.

I did not care for this book anywhere near as much as I thought I would. I feel like 2 stars is being generous. The main character is extremely unlikable. She was selfish, not very nice, hypocritical, and I hated how she treated Mitch and even how she treated Bo much of the time (though I liked Mitch much, much more, even though it’s supposed to be Bo we fall in love with). I felt that Willowdean’s path to self-acceptance was disconnected and a little unrelatable, especially when I really thought her story would resonate with me. It did not. I also thought the end was very poorly done.

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

Good Heavens, I loved this book! Let’s discuss why:

The Characters

As a group, I loved these characters! Not since The Raven Boys have I been so obsessed with a cast of characters. And while these characters as a whole don’t quite match up to The Raven Boys for me, they are a very close second and have so much potential. They work together as a team so well, even if they don’t always get along and there really wasn’t a weak link. And The Banter. I love it so much!

Kaz Brekker. I love him. Like, I’m in love with him. It’s a problem. He has become one of my favorite characters of all time. He’s clever, strategic, sarcastic, vengeful, vulnerable, protective, selfish…there are just so many layers to him! I adore him. I just wanted More, More, More Kaz.

I also loved the comic relief that Jesper and Wylan provided and I loved how resourceful Inej was. It took a little while for Nina and Matthias to grow on me, but they eventually did and I heart them, as well.

The Story-Telling

I’m a big fan of Bardugo’s Grisha series, but it’s been awhile since I read it and I’ve forgotten how great of a writer she is. She’s amazing. And as much as I love her first series, I think I love this series even more, even if it’s just one book in so far. There was a lot of angst in the Grisha series and while there is some angst in this book, it’s not a main plot point. I loved the overall story and I especially loved the subtle twists and turns throughout. There were times I was sure something terrible was happening, then realized it was all part of the plan. I love when a book can surprise me and Six of Crows surprised me over and over again.

The Romance

Ok, so the romance was not a major part of the book. In fact, it was a pretty small part in the grand scheme of things, but it was well done and we got a little bit of everything. There’s the beginning of a cute flirtation. There are exes who will maybe reconcile (and were the main attraction for the angst in this book). And there are the friends who are trying to deny their feelings for each other. And yet another reason why I’m obsessed with Kaz – who doesn’t love a guy who will tear someone’s eye out of it’s socket for you!?

Why I Couldn’t Give it 5 Stars

I was thisclose to giving this book 5 stars, which if you know me, you know why that is such a big deal. But there were just a couple problems with it. For being a heist book, I thought it was just a little too slow paced. Now if all of the slower chapters were from Kaz’s point of view, I probably would have had no problem with it. But, that brings up my second point, I thought there were too many chapters from Matthias and Nina’s POVs. I could have used a little more Jesper and A LOT more Kaz. I was pretty happy with the amount of POVs we got from Inej, though I would’ve liked maybe one more small chapter from her at the end.

Overall, I just really loved Six of Crows. I loved the cast of characters, the twists and turns the story took, the romances, and KAZ BREKKER. Can I say that enough? I love Kaz! This is one book that definitely lives up to the hype and I strongly recommend it to basically everybody. Though it’s a YA book, it read adult. And while I think it would be helpful to read the Grisha series first (there are a few mentions of characters featured from that series and some of the events that took place), I think you could read it on it’s own and figure it out. So, go read this book!

So first I want to say thank you to all those that gave me a little pep talk after my last NaNoWriMo post. I was behind and not feeling it, but buckled down that weekend and got caught up! But then last week happened…and I wrote a grand total of around 600 words. We started a new billing process at work last week (which is about 75% of my job) and we weren’t really trained on it like we should have been and this anxiety-disordered worker spent the whole week basically in a panic.

While I can’t control what happens at work, I can control (some of) the things that stress me out outside of work and this year NaNoWriMo has been a bigger cause of anxiety for me than enjoyment. Plus, I still don’t really care about my story or my characters, so at 26,000 words, I think I’m going to call it.

So Thank You for the support and Good Luck to all those still participating – and Congratulations to those who have already finished (there’s a guy in my region who has over 150k words already)! I’m sure I’ll give it a try again next year. And since I am extremely indecisive, there’s always the possibility that I might decide next week that I want to buckle down over the holiday and finish the story. I don’t expect that to happen, but I reserve the right to change my mind on the whole thing.